


Cookies

by Ozzyyy



Series: I Make Misferns Mainstream [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (1/5/21 stream spoilers kind of), Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Niki | Nihachu, Chaos Energy, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Eret Needs A Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Eret-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, He/Him Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Healing, Hurt/Comfort, I will make that tag a thing, Misfern, Nightmares, Niki is younger than Eret so she's, Post-Betrayal, Post-Doomsday War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sibling Bonding, Traitor Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Trauma, and that's eret and niki, got slight annoying little sister vibes but like, guys some of these tags are fuckin TERRIFYING, i will die on this hill, in the best way possible, misfern adopted sibling pog, no please dont im sensitive and sad a lot, sometimes the oldest and middle child have just, try and stop me mother fuckers--, what the hell is healing cock what the FUCK?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28638429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ozzyyy/pseuds/Ozzyyy
Summary: "You haven't slept." Niki says after sticking a pan of doled out cookie dough into the furnace. She stokes the flames with an iron poker, tossing in another log when she sees it falter."You don't know that." Eret says rather matter-of-fact-ly, pointing at her form with a now licked clean spoon. It didn't matter, in Niki's house, whether Eret was a king or not. They were siblings. And siblings got to lick cookie dough spoons."I do, actually." Niki gives him a pointed look, wiping her hands off on her apron, "You're not a hard to read person, Eret.""I resent that."----Eret is tired, hasn't slept, due to nightmares and guilt that burns him up inside. Niki has some little sister wisdom to pass onto him about giving pain up and letting it go.
Relationships: Eret & Niki | Nihachu
Series: I Make Misferns Mainstream [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098674
Comments: 6
Kudos: 152





	Cookies

**Author's Note:**

> tw: slight panic attack, anxiety issues, guilt/trauma problems, general eating descriptions
> 
> Man. I have a lot of feelings about Eret's character. They portray them SO WELL and its. Their whole redemption arc makes me cry man. Also we're pretending Niki didn't go feral for this conversation to happen.

Eret's picked up a new habit, one he's not exactly proud of.

And it's covering up every mirror in his house. Every too shiny window is pulled shut, every mirror cast aside or blanketed with fabric. There was no reflective surface. And, well, Niki's not too sure that's a sign of good mental health. 

But what does she know, yeah? If Eret decides to never look at his reflection ever again, that can't be fueled by anything other than humble desire, right? Yeah. 

It has nothing to do with the nightmares. The white flashing eyes of disgust and horror, broken and burned bodies in his wake, stepping over pools of blood to achieve- what? Achieve... something. 

It's not. 

"You haven't slept." Niki says after sticking a pan of doled out cookie dough into the furnace. She stokes the flames with an iron poker, tossing in another log when she sees it falter. 

"You don't know that." Eret says rather matter-of-fact-ly, pointing at her form with a now licked clean spoon. It didn't matter, in Niki's house, whether Eret was a king or not. They were siblings. And siblings got to lick cookie dough spoons.

"I do, actually." Niki gives him a pointed look, wiping her hands off on her apron, "You're not a hard to read person, Eret." 

"I resent that. Am I not?" He adds at the end, insecurity dripping into his words. 

Niki winces, small enough to barely be noticed, and sighs, "Yes and no. I'm your sister, Eret. I know when you're upset." 

"I'm older." 

"Barely." She contests, "By like, a year or two." 

"Still older." 

"Don't avoid this, Eret." Niki warns, "You haven't slept. I know you haven't. You're doin' weird stuff and you're scaring me." 

Eret huffs, hopping onto the counter and pulling up one of his knees, resting his chin on it, "I don't mean to. It's just... it's been hard to sleep lately. Always, actually. It's just harder than usual lately." He snorts, pinching the bridge of his nose, below his sunglasses, nudging them with his thumb.

Niki turns to him, standing on the opposite side of the room and leaning on the closed drawers and cupboards of her bakery, "Racing thoughts or nightmares?" 

"Does it have to be one of those two?" 

"It usually is, with you." She purses her lips, eyes casting away, "Eret, this exact thing happened when I had just joined the server. It took me months to ease the reason out of you. Does this have to do with the first war...?" 

"No." Eret grits his teeth, jaw set. 

"Well, now I know it is." She lets out a small breath, blue eyes bearing into him with all her care and concern, "Please, Eret. Talk to me. I want to know what's going on." 

"This isn't something you can fix." 

"I don't need to fix anything, I want to know what's bothering my older brother. Maybe talking about it will help?" 

He groans, tilting his head so his cheek now presses against his knee, keeping his sight away from Niki. He knew the second she made eye contact, he'd crack under the pressure. Still, he can't help but relent anyway. It's not like the urge to speak about it hasn't been bursting under his skin for weeks now, wanting to hear someone finally say the words he aims to hear.

"It is. Kind of. About the first war." He examines his hands like he can still see the blood on them, tacky crimson drying in the cracks of his knuckles, "Not just the war, though. Specifically... that moment. With me and the whole--" He swallows hard, "Betrayal. I betrayed them." 

"It's not the button that's haunting me though. It's fucking Wilbur." He runs a shaky hand through his hair, attempting to self soothe, "I saw his ghost, Niki, at the crater. I didn't even... know he was around anymore. And everyone talked to him like it was normal, but it's killed me. I thought I was going insane for a second." 

"I understand..." Niki sighs, "I didn't know... No one told us Wilbur had lived in... I guess another way than we expected. It was a shock. It still is..." 

"Yeah. Something about seeing him again, being... nice to me? It's-It's broken something inside me. My nightmares are burning me alive now. It's always him. It's him, it's Fundy, it's... it's you sometimes--" 

Niki stiffens at that. 

"But it always comes back to me and it always comes back to that fucking phrase I-I regret saying every goddamn day," His voice cracks, lowering to a whisper as he forces out, "It was never meant to be." 

He's seconds from throwing up, the words on his lips is like ingesting poison. 

"And I'm always too late. Too late to keep it from happening again and I'm lost in a field of broken, dead, bodies, knowing it was all my fault..." Eret croaks, "Niki... is this all my fault?" He presses his hand over his mouth in a feeble attempt to stop the question from spilling out. Tears sting his eyes. He can't see this in any other sense. 

Eret started the cycle of betrayal, hatred, and anger. If he'd never done it in the first place-- who's to say all of this could've been different? Maybe it would've stayed the same, but at least he would be with his friends-- with his family. Maybe he would've gotten to see Ranboo grow up more, stop Tommy from being exiled, maybe he could've even stopped Wilbur-- 

Niki's hands cup his teary face, forcing his attention on her. 

"Eret," She coos, voice wavering with agony, "You-- No, Eret. It isn't your fault. This isn't all your fault." 

"I could've stopped all of it. Or at least I would've had a chance if I--" He hiccups, gnawing on his lip.

"It's not your fault, Eret. It's not." She sighs, pulling him down to her level, resting his forehead on her shoulder as she cards her fingers through his hair, "You've done everything you could have to make up for what happened. You were always there for them, whenever you could be. You've paid your price. You've been through enough pain, darling. Whatever crimes you've committed are forgiven. They were a long time ago." 

"And if I'd--"

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what could've been. I know... I know that's easier said than done, to just let that go, but you have to. Slowly. We'll never know what might've happened if that day never happened, and we never will. There's no point in..." She takes in a shuddering breath, "In torturing yourself over this, dear." 

Eret knocks his head lightly with her's, sniffling, "But what if Wil would be alive right now if..." He trails off, sensing himself stuck in a spiraling circle, "I'm just sorry, Nik. I don't know how...how to make this go away." 

She holds him tight, "It might not, right away, but it will over time. You've paid your due. Everyone's almost forgiven you. Now we're... waiting on you to forgive yourself." 

"I don't know if I can right now." 

"Then that's okay. Progress takes time." She soothes, scratching the back of his nape gently, "We all need that. Time." 

"I think it's all we have." 

"Then it's all we need." 

Niki's communicator beeps and she pulls away, regretfully, from a sniffling Eret. He wipes at his eyes, giving her a watery smile. Niki holds up a finger, sheepish, and pulls out the tray of cookies from the furnace, placing them on top to cool in the afternoon air. 

"The nightmares won't go." Eret says, adjusting to sit criss cross on the counter, inhaling the warm smell of chocolate chip cookies. 

"Maybe not," Niki hums, sliding two cookies into a bowl and holding it up to Eret with pride glowing in her eyes, "But until they do, I'll be right here when you wake up, with cookies." 

He laughs, taking one and biting into the baked good. And yeah, of fucking course it's perfect.

"I hate you for how good these are." Eret mumbles around delicious chocolate and perfectly soft cookie. 

Niki giggles, picking her's apart and eating it bit by bit, nodding in agreement, "These aren't so bad, actually--" 

"Not so bad? God, you're so humble it makes me upset--" 

"You just don't eat good food." She teases, nudging his knee with her hip. 

"I eat amazingly, thank you very much. Most of it isn't burnt anymore." He puffs out his chest in faux pride, causing her to burst into laughter again. When her laughs die down, she looks up at him with shining eyes and a kind expression; 

"You know, I'm always here for you if you need to talk about your nightmares more." 

"You're not my therapist--" He points out. 

"I know I'm not. I'm your sister. Which means you can lean on me sometimes, for fuck's sake." She chuckles, popping the last bit of cookie in her mouth with a pleased noise, "I know my boundaries, and you know yours. If I couldn't handle something, I'd let you know. But I'm telling you, now, that I want to hear how my brother is doing when he's struggling with nightmares. That's not an insane concept." 

Eret struggles not to groan at that, annoyed at her persistence. He knows by now that he's on the losing side if he keeps fighting her. Niki, despite being the middle child, has always been right. Always. 

"Fine." He grumbles, "I'll... let you in a bit more. But it's still... scary to do. Even with siblings." Especially with siblings, is the part he doesn't add. 

"Practice makes perfect." She amends, leaning against his slumped forward shoulder, stealing a bit of his cookie to eat. He swats at her, but she gets away with it before he can stop her, grinning maniacally. 

"Evil." 

"Your favorite." She pushes, pulling him from the counter and into a fuller hug, wrapping her arms around his torso. 

He hums, burying his face in her shoulder. They're all his favorite, honestly, but his heart always has a soft spot for his little sister. Even if he won't admit it sometimes. You don't almost blow up the white house together and get away without having bonded. The memory makes him chuckle, thinking of their jokes and mistakes, partners in crime, always there for the other. Each relationship he had with his siblings was special in it's own way. And this was no different. 

He relaxes into her grip, letting his eyes shut as he takes in the warmth and love that surrounds him. 

"Yeah. Maybe."


End file.
